We came to realise that we did not yet tell you about our home. I mean yes we come from Greece but where from Greece, right? Yesterday was our home town's independence day so we would like to take this opportunity to talk a little about where we lived all our lives. The name of the town is Alexandroupolis. It sits on the north east part of Greece, and it is the capital of the prefecture of Evros. Not a small town, not a big one either, just a little over 70,000 people but to tell you the truth I don't think all live there. I (Dia) grew up there but was not born there. My parents, like I think almost everybody's parents, are not from there but moved there for work. Kostas was born there but his parents are not from there either. That's the thing about Alexandroupolis, few people are actually from there. Most of us moved there and we grew up there and came to love it and make it our home. And what's not to love? Summers are wonderful with the closest beach being just five minutes away and winters are mild even though we are in the north. That's another thing about Alexandroupolis, it can snow one hour away but it RARELY snows in the town. I remember when we were going to school and other towns near by would have snow day and schools would be closed, we would be the only ones that would have to go to school because guess what? no snow!!! And when people think we are isolated think again. We can hop on plane and be in Athens in less than an hour (40 minutes to be precise). We can drive to Thessaloniki (the second largest city in Greece) in less than 3 hours and we can leave the country and drive to Istanbul in the same time. Bulgaria is also close by and has become the place where many go skiing in the winter. And not to forget Samothraki. The island just two and a half hours away by ferry. The island that we see every day from the balcony of my house. Unspoiled and beautiful. Alexandroupolis holds so many of our memories and we can truly say that we miss it every day. Of course we could not not mention the local cuisine. Since it is a town by the coast, fish and seafood are very common. Fish taverns as they are called are everywhere along the coastline and in the summer times they are literally packed! Alexandroupolis was so famous for its fish that they used to and I think still do ship them to Athens for the market there. Unfortunately, overfishing has taken a toll on the local fish and seafood population and unless they soon do something about it they will be depleted. So, fish and seafood is a big thing in our cuisine. But then again so is pork and in Thrace, where Alexandroupolis belongs, it is very common and they cook it in all sorts of ways. Especially in the winter, when it is cold, they cook a dish that has cabbage and pork with some hot pepper in it to give it a kick. That's what we will make for you today. And also one appetiser that is our favourite. it is called bekri meze (μπεκρἠ μεζἐ) and it means the drunk man's appetiser. Why drunk? Two reasons: one because it contains literally everything you can find in your fridge, which means that only a drunk person could be tossing everything like this in a pan, and two because it contains LOTS of red wine! :) Try both and let us know what you think. In the meantime watch a video about our town made by Iraklis Rigas named "Alexandroupolis City short film stories". We...well....will try not to drink too much ;)Kali Oreksi!Kostas, Dia and of course our baby Tony!

Video made by Iraklis Rigas

Drunk man's appetizer

Ingredients for 6 people:

200g chicken thighs deboned

200g pork and leek sausage or any other type of raw sausage

200g kielbasa sausage

200g ground beef

170g red bell pepper

10g red chilly pepper

330g tomatoes

170g onions

60g olives pitted

80g mature sharp cheddar cheese

200g potatoes

1tbs tomato paste

110ml red wine

60ml extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp + 1/4 tsp smoked sweet paprika

1/4 tsp +1/4 tsp + 1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp + 1/4 tsp +1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp + 1/4 tsp oregano

for more information on how to make the drunk man's appetizer please click here

Pork shank with cabbage (lahania)

Ingredients for 2 people:

900g pork shank bone in

625g cabbage

90g onions

30ml + 1 tbs extra virgin olive oil

200g tomato sauce

100ml red wine

1 tsp + 1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp sweet smoked paprika

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp chilly flakes (optional)

400ml water

for more information on how to make pork shank with cabbage please click here

Greek cuisine has a long tradition and its flavors change with the season and its geography. Greek cookery, historically a forerunner of Western cuisine, spread its culinary influence - via ancient Rome - throughout Europe and beyond. It has influences from the different people's cuisine the Greeks have interacted with over the centuries, as evidenced by several types of sweets and cooked foods.

It was Archestratos in 320 B.C. who wrote the first cookbook in history. Greece has a culinary tradition of some 4,000 years.Ancient Greek cuisine was characterized by its frugality and was founded on the "Mediterranean triad": wheat, olive oil, and wine, with meat being rarely eaten and fish being more common. This trend in Greek diet continued in Roman and Ottoman times and changed only fairly recently when technological progress has made meat more available. Wine and olive oil have always been a central part of it and the spread of grapes and olive trees in the Mediterranean and further afield is correlated with Greek colonization.